


there's no good in goodbye (but neither there is in staying)

by Patolemus



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Abusive Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians), Abusive Parents, Angst with a Happy Ending, Carlos de Vil-centric, Cruella de Vil's A+ Parenting, F/M, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Why isn't that a tag?, but with some other's thoughts sometimes, idk - Freeform, mentions of abuse, trust issues?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:40:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patolemus/pseuds/Patolemus
Summary: When Carlos was first told he would be leaving the Isle of the Lost, all he could feel was relief. He would be leaving that shit hole, the place he had called home for the past fourteen years. It had been his impossible dream since forever.And so when he had the chance, he ran before his mother could take it away.But things never come for free, and this time the price of freedom - even temporarily - is to steal Fairy Godmother's wand.And apparently, seduce a prince.
Relationships: Ben & Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Ben/Carlos de Vil, Chad Charming/Jay, Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil
Comments: 13
Kudos: 189





	there's no good in goodbye (but neither there is in staying)

When Carlos was first told he would be leaving the Island of the Lost, all he could feel was relief. He would be leaving that shit hole, the place he had called home for the past fourteen years. It had been his impossible dream since... well, forever.

' _But what about mother?_ ' oh, and there it was. The main reason he had always denied himself to dream. It didn't matter that there was no way out of the Island either way, Carlos was sure he would have find a way if he really wanted. But he hadn't, and that was because of her mother.

Cruella de Vil, true to her name, was a cruel woman. Every villain in the Island was, but Cruella had a special place among the top. One would think that, while having a fixation with making fur clothes out of dogs was a bit messed up, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as some of the things other villains had done.

But what those people didn't know about, were all the mental problems the fashion designer had since she was a child. Carlos on the contrary, did know, and that only made him more frightened. Who knew what she would do if she was really mad? Because no matter how bad she treated him, Carlos knew the times when she was really, _really_ mad were little in comparison to her usual crazy outbursts. Like that one time she had mistaken him for Anita, for some reason. Now _that_ had been a frightening experience.

The thing was, Carlos was pretty sure leaving her mother would made her go insane. Like, more than she already was.

Carlos knew Cruella kept him around because she wanted a servant, someone she could belittle and use whatever way she pleased. That's what his father had screamed at her during their last fight, just before she killed him in front of him in one of her dark phases, as he liked to call the times her mother went really batshit crazy.

And that was really the reason why he never attempted to leave. Yeah, he sometimes disappeared when he was hanging out with his friends - the teenage gang that ruled over the Isle of the Lost, but more importantly, his true family - and there were nights when he felt rebellious and decided to sleep with Evie, Jay or Mal. Sometimes even their secret hideout was a good option. But Carlos never truly left Hell Hall. How could he, honestly? Her mother would find him, and then she would be truly mad. Carlos didn't like it when she was mad, specially when that anger was directed at him - which happened quite frequently.

But now... now he had a choice to leave not only her mother's grasp, but the Isle of the Lost. He didn't know what was better.

And so when he had the chance, he ran before his mother could take it away. That was the second time he felt that thing books called freedom. The first time was when he first met the people who now were his family, and that had been so long ago he had forgotten how it felt.

"Are you alright?" Evie looked concerned, and Carlos made sure to school his face into a smug expression, his default for when he didn't want people to know what he was thinking about. It wasn't good for others to know how you felt in the Isle. He knew Evie would see straight through it, but she also knew that when the mask was directed at her, it was her queue to leave it be until later.

"'Course. Just wondering what Auradon is like. You know, how it really is, not just what that old TV lets us see." the lie came out as easy as breathing, which wasn't a surprise at all. Lying was a skill everyone in the Island had to learn rather sooner than later, because it could often decide whether you died or lived another day. Lying was what got you out of trouble when someone suspected you stole something from them. Lying was what had kept him alive, because even villains liked to see an innocent and cute face once in a while, whether because it made them feel like they weren't in the shit hole they lived in, or for much more darker reasons, none of them he cared to know about. And who was Carlos to tell them he was all but innocent, and that his mind would forever be tainted with the horrors he lived everyday inside Hell Hall?

"Alright. Just know I'm here for you, 'Los. The three of us are." said the blue haired girl was she squeezed his hand affectionately, which brought a smile to Carlos' face.

"Yeah, we're a family, C, you know that." said Jay, a confident smile on his face as he popped another sweet inside his mouth.

Mal didn't say anything, but the look she gave him was enough for him to know she meant the same in her own, Mal-like way.

"Of course, we're not the Rotten Four for nothing, y'know?" Carlos said with a smirk playing on his face, this time a real one.

His friends smiled in contempt when they saw his change of demeanor. They could talk later about what was bothering him. Right now, he was ok, and that was all they needed.

Being the youngest, Carlos was often babied by his friends. He was mostly annoyed by it, because he could very much take care of himself, he wasn't some useless runt even if he looked like one. But sometimes, it felt pretty great to know someone had his back, and right now, in that fancy limo that was taking them to Auradon, was one of those times.

* * *

When Carlos saw the enormous place that was supposed to be their room, he couldn't help but to think he was dreaming. That had to be some kind of mistake, right? When he told Doug, though, the boy only looked at him confused.

"Why do you say that? Every room in Auradon Prep is the same. You guys don't like it? Because we can make arrangements to change whatever it is you don't like." the son of Dopey was starting to look a little anxious, like Carlos when he was about to have a panic attack, but pretty turned down.

"It's not that, it's just... well, I used to sleep in a fur closet, so this is kind of... big, I guess?" said Carlos, shrugging it off, not noticing how Doug winced at the mention of his previous living arrangements.

"Oh... well then, I guess you can call me if you ever feel uncomfortable, I'll do what I can to help you. I'll let you guys unpack now, and we'll see each other later for dinner, ok?" he left soon after that, unable to to get what Carlos had said out of his mind. Maybe he would need to tell Ben that there was something else going on in the Isle of the Lost. Something much worse than they had thought.

But back with the male VKs, Carlos and Jay were still admiring what was supposed to be their new home. But none of them held any hopes. They would steal the wand soon, probably that same night, and then they would bolt back to the Isle, back to their parents, back to being the villains that prince thought they never were.

The prince. Benjamin Theroux, heir to the throne of The United States of Auradon, son of King Adam the Beast and Queen Belle Theroux. It was interesting that not only had the King taken his wife's last name, but her son too. But Carlos figured it was given the fact that the King didn't have a proper last name to being with, as didn't many people he knew. In fact, out of his whole gang - friend group - he was the only one with a last name, because when had Maleficent had one? Or Jafar, and the Evil Queen, for that matter? The same went for their children. It wasn't really that uncommon.

Either way, that didn't matter to Carlos. The reasons he thought of the rince were others. First of all, because he knew Ben had been the one to insist he and his friends were aloud in Auradon, whatever might his reason had been. He had welcomed them when they arrived, and despite his - honestly awful and vain - girlfriend, he had done everything in his power to make them feel comfortable. Carlos was sure, whether had been for that Audrey princess, the heir to the throne would have offer his help instead of pulling poor Doug into the whole mess.

What intrigued Carlos, was why? Why on Earth would the Crowned Prince decide it was ok to just bring four kids from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon, of all places? And the most dangerous, that is? Because they may not look like they could cause that much damage compared to other gangs in the Isle, but every one there knew not to cross them, because if they did things could end badly, and not just because of their parents.

And then this prince just... brought them to Auradon, offered them a charming smile and literally gave them everything they needed without asking anything in return besides their good behaviour - which they weren't going to give because, well, they wouldn't be around for much - .

Carlos would have felt bad, but that wasn't in his system. Everything that mattered was survival, and the only people he cared about were Evie, Jay and Mal.

They would make their parents proud. Then they would return to the Isle. He would return to mother.

It was only fitting, he thought, to be stuck with someone like Cruella. Because he, just like the others, was Rotten to the Core.

* * *

When Ben has offered to help him with tourney, Carlos had felt truly surprised. Why would Ben help him? And by that he meant _he_ , as in Carlos specifically out of... well anyone. He was just some kid of the Isle of the Lost, son of a crazy villain. That alone was more than enough reason for the soon-to-be King to _know_ he was... well, not worth the trouble. And that was without adding the whole... Carlos thing.

Sure, he was by no means defenseless back in the Isle, and he was respected among other villains for some reason. But in Auradon? He was _nothing_. Just like his mother had always said. She was often right about those things, he had come to realize a long time ago.

So why was Ben offering his time to help _him_? Carlos, in all honestly, had absolutely no idea.

As Jay waved him goodbye before going to their shared dorm room, Carlos couldn't help but to think back to his time in the Isle. He didn't had to turn too much back, just a few days ago he was still there, still in his mother's clutches.

Now though, even though he was away, he was in unknown territory. Back in the Isle, everything was an enemy, but it was a known enemy. He knew the rules: there wasn't any as long as you were the strongest. Here, he was at a loss, because he had no idea what half of the things the people around him did or said meant.

Being two years younger than his friends was never a bother in the Isle - he could always keep up with them, whether that be academics of mischief - but apparently in Auradon they took the age thing a bit more seriously. Carlos found out he couldn't just skip two years to be in his friends classes. What a bummer.

(Well, at least Fairy Godmother had told him that he could take some tests to see if they could move him up a couple of grades. But that would need to wait until after the coronation, she had said, and by then... well, he wouldn't be there anymore.

If the thought made him a bit sad and anxious, well, no one needed to know that).

So that meant Carlos often found himself alone, because apart from Remedial Goodness 101, he shared no classes with either of his friends - and was that one even a real class? It was literally only meant for them to learn how not to kill, poison, attack or do anything bad at other people - .

Being alone meant by default that he would pay extra attention to his surroundings. Not something he didn't do every time, but without the extra distraction, Carlos could focus solely on marking down every little detail of what was around him, a little habit he had picked up with his mother. It was always good to know when she was close, she or those two brutes she had as lackeys.

"Hey." Carlos jumped at the sudden voice entering his hearing radius. Even when the back of his head had told him there was someone with him, he hasn't expected that someone to interact with him, much less _talk_ to him. He almost went for his pocket-knife, only refraining himself from doing so when he realised who was talking to him.

"Oh, hello Prince Ben." he said, greeting said prince as his previous thoughts went to the back of his mind, obviously waiting to be picked up later.

"Wha...? Why are you calling me that? No one does that." Ben chuckled, and Carlos had to admit, it was a nice sound.

"Well, your girlfriend called you that the other day, and she looked... adamant for us to do it too, so I guess I thought it was fitting." Carlos shrugged, a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, please don't. Audrey's just... a bit excited about the coronation. I don't know what's gotten into her lately." he seemed a bit lost for a moment, but then flashed Carlos his usual sunshine smile. "But don't worry about it. Just call me Ben." he said, and Carlos hummed in acknowledgment.

"Alright, I guess I can manage that." he teased back, one of his specialities for when he was back at the Isle. He didn't have any magic - even when no one could use it the fact that people had magic still held a status - so he had to rely on his intellect most of the time. Being a good smooth talker, knowing how to rile people up to make them take a wrong step, that was his thing. He wasn't intimidating, but he was smart.

Just another reason why they respected him in the Isle, he supposed. Not that it mattered there at Auradon, when everyone was so good it made him feel weird.

"Alright, not that that's clear, I think we can start with this." said the prince, flashing him another one of his charming smiles. Carlos just nodded, a slight frown in his face as he prepared. "We can start with timing your running speed, ok? One, two..." but Carlos wasn't listening anymore, because _there was a dog_. A freaking dog, rabid pack animal, ready to _kill him_. So he started running as fast as he could, which was really fast, taking into consideration he was one of the fastest runners in the Isle, and that he was running for his life because _the_ _fucking dog was following him and oh gods it was going to kill him!_

He didn't notice Ben following him, yelling at him to stop. Not that he would have done it if he had listened.

Instead, Carlos started climbing the first tree he saw suitable for the task, because there was _no way_ he was letting that dog touch him. Nuh-uh, not in that lifetime. His heart was pounding painfully, and his mind was running miles per out trying to find a solution before that thing killed him. He didn't noticed his own tears of sheer fear in the corner of his eyes, too busy making sure the dog couldn't reach him.

"Carlos!" the white haired boy heard the faint yell of his... friend? Something like that.

"Ben! Oh my gods you're _here_! Help me, it wants to kill me!" he yelled back, trying to escalate some more now that the threat was just bellow him.

"What? What are you talking about? Dude?" and then, to Carlos' consternation, _Ben picked up the dog_. Like, didn't he know it was going to dismember him in seconds?!

"Ben, don't do that! It's a killer, and it wanted to rip out my throat! Don't hold him, it'll kill you too! This is a vicious, rabid, pack animal!"

"Hey! Who told you that?" exclaimed the soon-to-be King, clearly confused.

"Mother." said Carlos, not moving his eyes from that murderous creature. Who knew what it could do if he wasn't careful.

"Cruella?" well yeah, who else would it be? He was the son of Cruella de Vil, as everyone liked to remember him of, both back in the Isle, and at Auradon. The only difference were the reasons.

"She's a dog expert, a dog yellerer." he explained, because Ben obviously didn't _understand_ what was going on. And why was he still holding that dog?!

"Carlos, you've never actually met a dog, haven't you?" Ben had the nerve to _smile_ , like he didn't know he was about to get killed any second now.

"Of course not, there are not dogs in the Isle." he pondered whether or not to comment that all of those that did were there, were either killed for the meat, or for the fur - one could guess who did the latter - . Carlos had to suppress the gag reflex that overcame him when he thought about it. His mother had been ecstatic. He? Not so much.

"Dude, meet Carlos. Carlos, this is Dude. He's the campus mutt." and then Ben smiled again, and the dog - Dude - stopped looking that menacing.

"Huh, he... he doesn't _look_ like a rabid pack animal..." and with Ben's silent encouragement, Carlos untangled himself from the tree to move a little closer to Dude, and after a little thought, he reached out to pet him.

Dude didn't bite him, so he was counting that as an ' _alright, I'll let you pet me_ '. Thank the gods for that, because otherwise Carlos would have seriously freaked out then.

Somehow - probably Ben being sneaky - Carlos ended up _holding the dog himself_. He wasn't ready for that. Like, _he wasn't_. But he figured that Ben would save him if something bad happened.

"You're a good boy..." he tentatively said, smiling to himself.

"I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the Isle."

"Yeah. Let's just say... we don't get a lot of belly rubs." Carlos smiled despite himself, trying to reassure the prince for some reason.

"Good boy." feeling the hand on his shoulder as the other boy said that, Carlos raised an eyebrow slightly, and Ben stammered a bit. "I mean, you're a good runner, y-you're fast and..."

"Oh." he suppressed the small smiled that wanted to appear at Ben's expression. "Thank you."

"Yeah... listen, I'm gonna give you guys some space. Get to know each other, and... come find me when you're done, ok?" and then Ben smiled once again, and Carlos gave him the best one he could in return.

"Yeah. Thanks." with that, the brunet turned around, leaving the son of Cruella alone with his thoughts... and Dude, of course.

' _Good boy? Huh, that's the first time someone calls me that... or anything that isn't an insult, for that matter._ ' for some reason, the words brought a smile to his face.

* * *

"Wait, why do I have to do it?" they were currently in the kitchen, baking the magic cookies that were soon to be filled with love potion that would make the Prince fall head over hills with Mal. That way, she would be really close to the wand during the coronation, and they would finally achieve their goal.

Well, apparently, that wasn't the plan anymore.

"Because I'm gay as fuck." bluntly said the daughter of Maleficent, just like she always was. "Besides, either of us could be in the front row for it to work, it doesn't need to be me."

"And I'm seeing Doug. It would be a little bit complicated to just dump him for Ben. We want people to believe it's True Love or something, not the love spell's doing." said Evie, expertly masking the way her eyes shined at the mention of True Love.

"And why me? Jay could do it!" protested Carlos, because why couldn't Jay do it? Carlos didn't want to either.

"Because I'm not gay, but you are. If there is someone who would be comfortable dating the guy, it would be you." said the son of Jafar with a smirk, and Carlos was tempted to voice out what he had seen the other day after tourney practice.

' _Yeah, right. Jay not being gay? Tell that to Chad Charming, because he very much did not receive that memo. Nor did Jay's mouth, for that matter..._ ' but he was a good friend, so he would not rattle him out. Not when he was already seeing someone, that is.

But Carlos did send him a look, one that clearly said 'you owe me one'. Jay's eyes widened just for a second, before he nodded once.

And that was it. It was settled now. Carlos would have to do it.

He had a feeling he would be regretting not being more pushy with the subject pretty soon.

* * *

"Hey Bennyboo." said Carlos with a smirk as Audrey leaved, and Ben turned around with an embarrassed expression.

"Hey, Carlos! What's up?"

"Y'know, last night we were baking cookies, double chocolate. Mal wanted to try it, because they told us the kitchens were available for all the students, and we'd never had chocolate chips cookies before, so... well, they're good, you want one? I saved you one before they ate them all yesterday." he said, offering the cookie to the prince with his best innocent smile.

"Oh, I... I don't eat before a game, but thanks! I promise next time I'll..."

"Oh, I get it. Be careful with treats offered by villains kids. I'm pretty sure every kid in Auradon knows that..." and Carlos didn't even need to fake that much. It made sense, once he thought about it.

"No, no, no, no, no, that's not what I meant, I..." going by Ben's panicked expression, maybe they wouldn't need to plan something else.

"No, I get it! You're cautions, that's smart. It's good to know. More for me, I guess..." and as Carlos went to eat that cookie, he almost hoped that Ben wouldn't stop him. If anything happened to him, Mal would just bake an anti-love potion, so the white haired boy was safe.

"No, no!" and Ben took the cookie from Carlos' hand and took a big bite, chewing and somehow still smiling charmingly at the same time. "See that? Totally trust you." and he offered him a side smile, one that made something move inside Carlos' chest. Was he having some kind of allergic reaction? Was it possible to be allergic to kind smiles? Because that was probably it.

"How are they?" Carlos asked, slowly raising an eyebrow as Ben started rambling about the cookie for some reason.

Carlos felt his three friends slowly approaching them as the Crowned Prince started to look more and more confused, muttering something about walnuts that Carlos made sure to remember - the reason? He himself did not know - all the while staring directly at Carlos. Just like they had planned it to go.

"Carlos, have you always had that sparkles in your eyes?" asked Ben, going for another bite just before Carlos took the cookie away from him, afraid of what could happen to the prince with more of that love spell.

"How're you feeling, bro?" asked Jay with a light smirk, knowing fully that the spell had worked, going by the expression he wore.

"I feel... I feel like... singing your name!" Carlos' smile dropped when Ben started to actually sing. "Carlos! Caaaarl...!" the white haired boy shut him with his hand, while Jay looked at the cookie that was back inside the plastic bag impressed.

' _Oh boy_.' was all Carlos could think as he looked at the newly in love prince. ' _Mal's gonna owe me big for this_.'

* * *

Carlos sat in the bench, surrounded by noise and people clapping, all of them supporting the team. Jay was called, and he smiled when his friend - his brother - stood up. Only for said smile to be wiped out the next second.

"What about him?" and then he just pointed at Carlos like he had any chance of going into that field. Just, no.

"Hell no. Nope, we are not doing this Jay." the older boy continued like he hadn't spoke in the first place.

' _Ok just,_ rude.' thought the de Vil boy a little bit offended.

"Remember when you told me every team member was like a body part?"

"Jay, _no_!" Carlos was once again, ignored.

"Well, this guy's like my brain." and then Jay smiled, looking at the coach with pleading eyes and a charming smile.

"I... can't really argue with that." mumbled Carlos, unfortunately not low enough, going by Jay's huge smile.

He almost groaned because _he did not want to play, why did you do that Jay?!_

"Don't worry, I got your back, just like in the Isle." he said, and then Jay's smile was directed at him, and Carlos stood up if a bit unwilling.

"How about my front?" he sassed, and Jay just laughed, because he knew Carlos wasn't defenseless.

In the end, he managed to convince him to let him stay out for that one. Said he could ' _send him brain waves from the distance_ '. Whether Jay believed that or not Carlos didn't know, but he really hoped his friend hadn't.

Contempt with his win - because believe it or not it was _hard_ to make Jay do something he didn't want to - , Carlos watched his friends play, and cheered at the right moments, including the winning score by Ben. Said boy had spent the whole game giving glances at him, little waves and such, and the prince wouldn't go back to the game unless Carlos responded, which was a little worrisome to say the least.

The commentary man was saying some last words before finishing up... and then Ben took the microphone.

"Excuse me? Can I have your attention please?" everybody looked at him, and Carlos tried to ignore the bad feeling he was having about the whole thing. "There's something I have to say."

Then he just went quiet, while everyone waited for him to... well, _say_ whatever he wanted to say. Then:

"Give me a C!"

"C!"

"Give me an A!"

"A!"

"Give me an R!" and Carlos was starting to understand where that was going.

"R!"

"Give me an L!" and he didn't like it one bit.

"L!"

"Give me an O!"

"O!"

"Give me an S!"

"S!"

"What does does that spell?!"

"CARLOS!" for fucks sake.

"Come on everyone I can't hear you!" and Ben encouraged them, literally not caring that his girlfriend - well, ex-girlfriend now - had ran away crying. Maybe that Love Spell was stronger than they thought.

"CARLOS!"

"I love you Carlos. Did I mention that?" and then he started to _fucking sing. A love song. To him_.

"What the fuck was in that cookie?" was all he could say when the whole tourney team, plus the cheerleaders started to dance and sing with Ben. Even Jay, the traitor. He would see...

Carlos ran up to where Evie and Mal were, deciding he was safer there rather than back on the field with Ben. Both girls were laughing, damn them.

"Would you be laughing if it where you who he's talking too?!" he whisper-yelled at his friends, who stopped laughing, but still smiled in amusement.

Soon, everyone around them was signing along, many of them nudging at him playfully and laughing. Carlos only wanted to die of embarrassment. And that was before Ben tossed his shirt at him.

"Can I crawl into a hole and _die_?" he begged Mal, and she shook her head, motioning to the side. When he looked there, he found that _Ben had been launched to the bleachers and was walking towards him, oh no, please don't, Ben don't do this._ His pleas, of course, were not listened to, and soon Ben was leaning over him, an euphoria-induced manic smile plastered on his face. He then tried to kiss him - like, dude take me on a date first, would ya? - and when Carlos hid behind Ben's shirt the prince just hugged him, getting him closer with a giddy expression, laughing in glee.

"I love you Carlos. Did I mention that?" he said through the microphone - which he didn't need because Carlos was _right there_ \- just as Audrey took the damn thing out of his hands.

"Aziz and I are dating now! And I'll go to the coronation with him, so I don't need your pity date." but before she could do anything else Ben took the microphone back and yelled:

"Carlos!?"

"Yes?" he said, barely a whisper in compare to all the yells around him.

"Would you go to the coronation with me?" Carlos looked at his friends with panic, because Ben wasn't supposed to ask him that in front of the whole school, but they just nodded encouragingly.

So he put on his best smile, and said thought the microphone:

"Yes!"

"He said yes!" Ben yelled before crushing him in another beast hug. Was he lying when he said he hadn't inherited his father's curse?

Then Jay whisked Ben - his new boyfriend? - away for celebratory pizza - which he would gladly skip with the excuse of being emotionally unstable. _I just got asked to go to the coronation with the_ prince _, who by the way technically asked me to be his boyfriend just an hour and a half ago, give me a break_ , he would say when his team members tried to convince him to go too, and fortunately it worked.

Only once he was back at his dorm room, laying on his bed with Dude by his side, he pondered what Ben had said.

' _Yeah, you'll give me your kingdom. You'll give it to me just right.'_ because he was Rotten...

... to the Core.

* * *

"He asked me on a date." Carlos didn't even wait to close the door as he said those words, too angsty for anything more graceful. He had been wanting to talk to them since Ben had asked him during that little recess he had before his Physics class, just after Remedial Goodness 101. Carlos had said yes - it was kind of his job to do it, really - and now he was freaking out. "Fuck the plan, fuck Fairy Godmother's wand, this wasn't a part of the plan."

Mal was just about to snap at him because _what was that about the plan and the wand?_ But one look at Carlos' eyes was enough to make her relent.

Sometimes, she forgot Carlos was only fourteen. Yes, she babied him, they all did, but Carlos had always been the mature one of the four. He was the only one who could truly calm Jay when he went full hotheaded, the only one who could help Evie when she was having a fashion crisis, and the only one who could make Mal stop from destroying everything in her path. Carlos, their little brother, was always the one with a smart plan, a sneaky comment on the tip of his tong before you could finish the sentence, the one who was always three steps ahead of them, the one who always helped them out when they needed him.

But when Mal saw those eyes... all she could think of was the small kid she found hiding inside a trash can years ago. She had been wandering around the Isle, causing some mischief as she went, already a respected figure at only eight years old.

Carlos had been running from his mother's lackeys - Horace and Jasper - who were chasing him after her mother had gone through one of her really dark phases, and couldn't recognize him. All she could see were the monochromatic on his clothes and his hair, and that was enough for her to want a new coat.

And then Mal had found him - scared, trembling, and crying. That was all it took to melt her young heart. From that moment, Carlos had been under her protection, and whoever dared touch him... well, they regretted it dearly.

The point was, Mal could understand why he was freaking out. So instead of lashing out like she normally would, she looked at him straight in the eye and said:

"Hey. It'll be ok. Don't worry, we'll help you. And besides, it's not like you could do something wrong to scare him away, 'Los." she winked playfully, which managed to get a tiny smile out of her baby brother.

That was a win, Mal decided.

"That's not the problem, really. You... well, you guys know how touchy he is, and... I don't know, it freaks me out." oh. That... that actually made so much sense Mal thought about kicking herself for one second. Out of the four of them, Carlos was the one who could handle touch the worse. With the Rotten Four? No problem, but his limits ended there. Anyone else who touched him... well, he tended to either freak out, have a panic attack, or just go and attack the person with his knife. Or his needles, those things were no joke.

"Well... what if one of us tells him to tune down on the touchy? He'll listen, with that love spell there's no way he'll do something that could make you uncomfortable, C." and then people said Evie wasn't smart.

"I mean... I guess that could work." Carlos pondered before nodding. "Alright, now the next problem."

"Is there something _else_?" asked Jay, seriously thinking about just going straight to that prince and tell him to stop making his little bro uncomfortable.

"Well yeah, obviously. I have no idea of what to wear. Evie..." but the blue haired girl was already walking towards his wardrobe.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." Carlos smiled in relief, because even if he was a fashion genius - _the_ one thing he and his mother had in common - , Evie's help was always a great bonus.

* * *

Carlos was wearing black leather pants - because yes, he did have something that weren't shorts in his wardrobe thank you very much. What kind of person did they think he was, honestly? - with red sippers, a white shirt and one of his many black, white and read colored leather jackets. Evie had deemed his usual combat boots were passable enough, and she had helped him style his hair, so it didn't look like his usual afro. Instead, his hair was straightened with a bit of help from Mal, and Carlos thought that maybe he would let his hair grow, because he looked _good_. They decided no eyeliner was necessary - and by they he meant Evie and himself. Mal and Jay just looked at them not understanding half of what they were talking about - and Carlos was just finishing with the jacket when a knock on the door was heard.

"Oh gods he's _here_." Carlos pondered whether it was smart enough of a move to just jump from the window, but figured his clothes would be ruined so finally he decided against it.

"Hey, don't stress yourself. You'll do _fine_. And if something does happens, you know Mal has her spell book ready to curse that prince to the moon, 'kay?" Evie then winked at him, and Carlos' heartbeat started to slow down a little.

Bracing himself, he opened the door, and _wow Ben looked_ so hot, _Carlos didn't remembered him being so hot._

"For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful." being honest, the boy was in aw as he just... stared, at Carlos of all people.

' _Again, what in hell was in that cookie?_ ' that was something he would ask to himself 'till the end of his days.

"You think I'm pretty?" Carlos managed to stammer out, feeling the - very much not appreciated - blush spread on his cheeks.

"I think he meant beautiful, 'Los." Mal offered him a smile they said ' _isn't it obvious?_ '. So, like her usual expression when people were being stupid.

' _Huh, she doesn't normally directs that face to me.._.' but then again, Carlos wasn't one to be stupid. He was quick on both his feet and mind, probably to make up for the lack of magic - and yes, that bothered at some point of his life, because his only three friends all had some type of magic. But he was over that phase now - though the reason now wasn't of any importance.

"Oh... well, that makes more sense." he laughed nervously, because did Ben _have_ to look at him like that? Probably not, so why was he doing it?

"You ready to go?" asked the Crowned Prince, and Carlos forced himself to swallow the thick knot in his throat before nodding.

"Yeah, let's go." he said, thankfully without sounding like he was out of breath, and Ben smiled at him. Did that boy know how to stop smiling?

"Hope you like bikes." Carlos just smiled - well, he hoped whatever Ben saw was a smile anyways, 'cause that was the best he would be getting - and then grabbed one of the two helmets his - spelled - boyfriend was holding as he turned around to watch as his friends because _he_ _could not do this_. But as always, they just gave him encouraging faces, and Mal even gave him a thumbs up. Alright, if Mal was giving him a _thumbs up_ , it meant it would be fine. Well, 90% sure it would be fine.

' _I'm going to have an aneurysm._ ' he thought as he leaved the door room with Ben.

When Carlos closed the door behind him, the three other villain kids shared a look.

"Ok, so I didn't want to say it, but am I the only one who...?" Evie looked at the door, and then back at his two friends.

"Nope, we all see it." was Mal's nonchalant answer, as she went back to her spell book looking for some interesting spells. That one for test cheating seemed interesting...

"Oh... ok then. Hope he realises on his own."

"Don't put all your hopes in that. Carlos may be damn smart, but he's a dumbass when it comes to love stuff." remembered her Jay, who was in dog duty for the first half hour of Carlos' date.

Evie's expression dropped, and her head fell on the table besides the dress she was currently sewing.

"Right. I had forgotten about that."

* * *

"Is this your first time?"

"Huh? Oh, well... in the Isle we didn't really date, it was more like... gang activity. You know what that is right? Probably not, you're all too good here to have gangs... it's what you would call a friend group, I guess." Carlos tried to explain, carefully avoiding the fact that he himself had been a part of said 'gang activity' with his three-year-lasting flings with Harry Hook. Ben probably didn't need to know that.

"I was talking about whether this was your first time eating a jelly donut?" Ben smiled endearingly.

"Oh, is it bad?"

"Here, let me..." said the Prince as he tried to clean off the jelly and crumbs from Carlos' mouth. "Could you lick your lips?" he did so, and Ben flashed him a smile. "Alright. But now I want to know more about that gang activity you were talking about."

"Huh? Well, that's... ok, I already told you it's like a friend group, but more violent and... well, I guess more closed off. In the Isle there are two kinds of people. The ones you can trust on, and the once you cannot. Being part of a gang means you can trust those in it with your life, and that they'll trust their lives with you. And by that I mean quite literally."

"That's... well, that doesn't sound so bad."

"Well, it's kinda hard to get in a gang, because most were formed when we were all little. That's why we trust each other so much. I met Mal when I was six, and she took me in. I was... in a bad place, both mentally and physically. I mean, I was hiding from Mother's lackeys inside a trash can, so you can get the picture." Carlos missed the way Ben's face twisted at that, and at the nonchalant way he said it. "But anyways, something in me made Mal feel like she needed to protect me or something, and since then she's never let anyone do anything to me. The Isle works pretty much based on how evil you are, and in our case, how evil our parents are. That's why we ruled over there, because for starters, our leader was the daughter of Maleficent. Jay's the son of Jafar, and he's got so much muscle and rash behavior it can scare anyone. Evie... well, the children in the Isle had a set of unofficial rules, and one of then was, and I quote: "If Evie wants to be treated like a princess, then she is treated as such. No exceptions". You can guess what happened if you didn't follow that rule. Then there was me. I'm not much, but mother's the craziest person in the Isle, and everyone's been scared shirtless of her since as long as I can remember."

There was a moment of silence, as Carlos let Ben absorb all that new information. Then:

"Were you?" it was nothing but a whisper, and Carlos almost missed it.

"What?" Carlos, of course, had understood what Ben had said, but he pretended not to.

"Were you scared of your mom?" this time Ben's voice was a bit louder, but just barely.

"Was I?" Carlos pondered his answer. "Yeah, I was. I still am, really. When people call my mother crazy, they're just talking about the tip of the iceberg. You know my mom has various mental illnesses? Here in Auradon, before she was locked away, she at least got her meds. Now... well, no one can say she hasn't gotten worse."

"Carlos..."

"Don't say anything. There's nothing neither of us can do now." the white haired boy tried to smile, but going by Ben's kicked puppy's expression, he probably failed.

"Do you feel safe now that you're here?"

"Well... it depends. The Isle's dangerous, but it's a dangerous I've known all my life. I know how to play by the rules, and by that, I mean that there are no rules if you're the strongest. Here though... I feel like I'm stuck playing a game I don't know the rules off, when all the other players have memorized the rule book and have a start advantage. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I can't say I understand it, because I've never felt that way. But I guess I get why you feel like this. Just know that you can always count on me if you need any help, 'kay?"

"I... alright. I'll make sure to remember that." they both smiled at each other, and for the first time Carlos didn't feel as bad.

There was a moment of silence, and then Carlos remembered he was there on a mission, so he - regardless of what he wanted to do - talked again.

"And now you're gonna be King." he said, hoping the change of topic would drive Ben away from his home life. Apparently, it was a sore spot to the boy as well. Ah, why couldn't he do anything right?!

"Yeah..." Ben sounded so dejected it made Carlos want to hug him.

"What?"

"The crown doesn't make you a King." and Carlos was confused now, because the crown did in fact, make one King. It was the whole purpose of the damn thing.

"It... kinda does." he tried for a smile, and Carlos made an inner victory dance when Ben smiled back at him.

"No, I mean... your mom is one of the worsts villains in the Isle, and I have the portrait of goodness as parents. That doesn't mean we're automatically like them. We get to choose who we want to be." then, Ben looked straight into Carlos' eyes, and the white haired boy had to fight the urge to lean closer. "And right now, I can look into your eyes, and I can tell you're not evil. I see it."

Carlos just stared at Ben, trying to make sense to what he had told him. He obviously was not like his mother. Trapped as she may be, Cruella was still a respected villain and everyone cowered at the mention of her name back home. He... well, he was respected, sure, but it was all because of Mal or his mother. Never something he had done.

' _Well, there was that one time when I accidentally tore down the barrier, but no one knows that, so..._ ' Carlos was prayed away of this thought by Ben, who was smiling like himself once again.

"You wanna go for a swim?" for a second Carlos was tempted to just say yes, because that face was almost impossible to resist, but he managed.

"Huh? Oh no." the white haired boy had a bunch of reasons to not want to be in a lake with Ben. Even if that pack of abs the boy was showing was really tempting.

"Why not? It will be fun." ' _do not fall for it, don't do it de Vil. You're stronger that this_.'

"No Ben, really, I don't know how to swim." which was true, but that was the least of his reasons for not being on board.

"But you lived in a Isle surrounded by water." and the brunet looked genuinely confused, because how was it possible that he didn't know how to swim?

Well, breaking news, Carlos didn't, in fact, know how to fucking swim, thank you.

"Uh, one with a magical barrier that didn't let us through. And besides, the little water we do have in the Isle it's pirates' territory, which means our gang can't go there without one of them alerting Uma." said Carlos with an ' _Are you an idiot?_ ' face because, well, he thought it was obvious.

"Uma?" Ben tilted his head, looking dangerously adorable, and Carlos had to forced himself to swallow the knot in his throat.

"Ursula's daughter." Carlos explained, and Ben made a sound of understanding.

In the end, Carlos somehow managed to convinced him to let him just watch from the sidelines as he swam. Apparently Ben thought it was fair that he got to taste chocolate-covered strawberries. And so, the white haired boy stayed alone with only food and his thoughts as company.

He did stopped for one second to mock Ben on his crown-stamped short - because really, the brunet was asking for it - but after that he went back to the food. And the loneliness, one couldn't forget the loneliness.

"This is really good." he said to himself as he savored that piece of heaven Ben had called chocolate with peanut butter fill, now that the strawberries were - sadly - gone. How was it that he had never tasted this before?

Ah. The Isle. Of course. For a moment, as small as it had been, Carlos had forgotten about the Isle, about his mission. He had forgotten about all his worries, about what mother would do to him once he was back with her.

If only he could just... stay that way forever. If only he could forget his past, forget the reason why he was on a date with the Crowned Prince in the first place, forget everything.

If only...

It wasn't fair, he thought in a childish way, something he usually didn't do. Why couldn't they all just forget about their parents and be free for once?

But life wasn't fair, he bitterly remembered, and it certainly wasn't kind. It was the hard truth he had come to learn when he was just an infant, one of the first things that had stuck in his head despite the years.

If you didn't crushed others, they would crush you. If you weren't the strongest out there, you were pretty much useless. If you weren't valuable, you were disposable. Those were the rules he by now knew by heart, just like every other living being in the Isle of the Lost.

And despite that, a corner of Carlos' mind dreamt about a universe where he didn't jump when someone touched him, of where he could be whatever the hell he pleased.

But he knew it wouldn't be possible. For monsters like him, there was no salvation. He was rotten to the core, and that wasn't going to change, ever.

It was the lack of noise what tipped him off about something being wrong. Just moments ago, he could hear Ben swimming across the lake, and now... he heard nothing.

Looking around, Carlos couldn't see that brunet hair anywhere. Just where was he? He wouldn't leave Carlos there, he was too much helplessly in love - under a love spell, the voice in his head reminded him - with him to even consider leaving him an option.

"Ben? Come on Ben, this isn't funny." but the boy was still nowhere to be seen, and Carlos started to get anxious. "Ben?! Ben, where are you?!"

When he was meet up once again with silence, Carlos bit his lower lip before standing up and jumping inside the lake. He may not know how to swim, but he would be damned if he lost Ben in their first date.

Taking clumsy steps - god, why did people like to be in the water, it was so frustrating - Carlos made his way through the lake, calling his - spelled - boyfriend's name.

' _Come on, where_ is _he?_ ' Ben was a good swimmer, there was no way he had drowned... right?

Carlos certainly hoped so. He didn't want to explain anyone how the future King had drowned in the middle of their date. What would his parents say? Probably that Carlos had drowned him...

Suddenly his foot slipped, and soon he was trying - and failing spectacularly - to stay afloat. He was right, that swimming thing was a lot more harder than Uma and her crew made it look like.

Splashing water everywhere, Carlos failed to notice Ben had resurfaced until after he picked him up.

"You scared the fuck out of me!" said the villain kid, glaring at Ben even when he felt him flinch at the 'F word', as those goody good Auradonians called the word fuck.

"What were you thinking, you can't swim!" was Ben's response and, alright he was right. That didn't mean Carlos was any less furious with him.

"Well, I couldn't see you, and when I called you wouldn't answer. What was I supposed to do? Let you drown?" and that was besides the fact that he would surely be to blame if the Crowned Prince went missing during their date, guilty or not.

"You were trying to save me?"

"Yes, you knucklehead! So don't go missing on me again, you hear me?" he didn't let Ben answer before he was talking again. "God, now my clothes are ruined. Evie is going to have my head. Or well, your head once she finds out it was your fault." he went on a ramble. "I try to save the future King, and does he thank me? No! All I get is soaking wet and a future scolding."

"And a pretty rock." Ben handed him a shining - and yeah, pretty - rock with a small smile. "Make a wish, and then throw it back in the lake."

Carlos looked at it for a second, then back at Ben, before taking the rock and throwing it back at the damn mass of water.

They sat back in the picnic area Ben had arranged for them, and the white haired boy took comfort in Ben's jacket, that hung around his shoulders.

"Carlos, I told you that I love you. What about you? Do you love me?" the question was sudden, and Carlos wasn't prepared. Mostly because he didn't know the answer. He should have said an empty yes. He should have thought a truthful no. But for some reason, both of them sounded wrong.

And so, he chose to be sincere.

"I... I don't know how love feels like." Carlos said, looking to the side as to not face his boyfriend's - gods, to think of it felt so good and so bad at the same time - stare.

But then Ben gently grabbed his chin, and made Carlos look back at him.

"Maybe I can teach you?" and Carlos didn't answer, he just looked at Ben with mesmerized eyes. Because for the first time, he actually felt like someone looked at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

' _But it's all the love spell's doing_.' the voice in his head remembered him, and so, Carlos got down to Earth once more.

The rest of their date was uneventful, just the both of them getting to know each other.

But even after their date ended, Carlos tried not to think about the wish he had made to the rock.

* * *

After that fiasco of a video-call, which he honestly didn't want to remember - Mother would skin him alive once he was within her grasp again for talking back - , the four of them were planning how to steal Fairy Godmother's wand during the coronation, that was approaching too fast for their liking.

"We'll be up in the stands under the Beast's spell jar, and we'll be coming from here. Carlos, you'll be up in the front, and the rest of us will be in the balcony." the other three nodded at Mal's words. "Jay?"

"I'll get the limo so we can get the control remote to break the barrier. Then Carlos will come with the wand so we can bring the wand back to the Isle."

"Perfect. Evie?" the daughter of the Evil Queen looked at her best friend, and Mal handed her a bottle filled with a light blue substance. "You'll use this to take out the driver. Two sprays and he'll be out like a light." then they all broke off, each going to different sides of the room. Except Mal, she stayed near the table, looking at something in her spell book.

"M? You wanna break Ben's love spell?" Evie asked after she saw what Mal was looking at. The daughter of Maleficent looked over as she nodded.

"Carlos asked me to do it for after the coronation. Said that, after the villains do in fact invade Auradon, and kick everyone out of their castles, imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful, to have Ben still in love with him would be just a bit..."

"Cruel." he said from his spot in his bed, absently petting Dude while he stared at his lap. "I'll go with you to the kitchens, Mal. I can help you with that tear this time." he said, because it was just too obvious now, wasn't it?

"'Kay." and that was it. They didn't talk more about it, just like Carlos wanted them to. They knew he would talk when he felt ready. But that would not be that day, nor the next one, nor the day after that.

* * *

When they arrived at the gardens, where Family Day was being held, they encountered people singing. It was a bit weird, but then again, after Ben's love proclamation nothing really surprised them anymore. Mal went directly to the strawberries stand - apparently, Jane had showed them to her after Mal did her hair, and she had fallen in love with them - , and of course that the other three VKs followed her, Carlos with Dude in his arms.

Carlos was feeling contempt with just looking around, given that he had no family to spend the day with - not that he wanted his mother to come, either - and he thought that his friends and Dude were more than enough company.

He, of course, wasn't counting on Ben wanting him to meet his parents. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Carlos!" he heard his name, and when he noticed Ben waving at him, the white haired kid left Dude with Evie after she checked he looked good enough, and then walked over to where his boyfriend was. With his parents. Oh gods.

"Carlos! I wanna introduce you to my parents." ok, so that was not how he expected to spend his evening.

"Hey." he said as they hugged, and Carlos fought against the warmness in his chest.

"This is Carlos, from the Isle. My boyfriend." Carlos thought that last one was unnecessary, but he wasn't about to say anything.

"Hy." and if Carlos had ever heard a 'hy' so awkward before, he didn't remembered.

"Hy." he greeted back, because it was the proper thing to do, and because he actually wanted Ben's parents to like him, for some reason.

Ben either didn't notice the awkwardness in the air, or didn't mind it, because he kept being his bubbly self with no problem.

"I was thinking maybe he could join us for lunch?" and he sounded so hopeful Carlos didn't think neither himself or Ben's parents would say no.

"Of course, any friend of Ben is..." Carlos didn't want to interrupt, it was the King of Auradon speaking after all, but... well, his friends were first.

"Oh, I um, actually came with my friends." the white haired boy said apologetically, because he actually wanted to spend time with Ben, and didn't want to make him sad. He wasn't comfortable with that knowledge though, so that made things a little easier.

"You should invite them, because the more the merrier!" Belle smiled, and Carlos didn't know if she was about to have a stroke, or had already had one. Probably somewhere in between those two.

"Alright, I'll go grab them!" Carlos offered his best smile, glad that Evie had made sure he didn't have any chocolate in his teeth before going.

"A-and how about a game of croquet before lunch?"

"Sounds great." even though he had no idea what that was. Ben probably picked up on that, because he asked him if he knew about it.

"Have you played before?"

"Nope." Carlos said sounding resolved, and Ben chuckled.

"Don't worry, you'll do great." he assured him, and Carlos smiled back.

' _You're falling, you're falling, you can't fall or you know what'll happen._ ' chanted his inner voice, and Carlos nicely told it to shut the fuck up. He knew that what he was doing was bad, and that he should stop. He wasn't going to though, not until after they had achieved their goal.

' _Even when you cried yesterday to make that anti-love spell? You think you can stay away later if you don't stop now?_ ' Carlos didn't respond anything to that.

But, unfortunately, his brain was right. He was... _attracted_ to Benjamin Theroux, heir to the throne of Auradon, soon-to-be King in less than a day. He really enjoyed his company, and for some reason he couldn't understand, being with Ben made him feel safe, something he only felt when he was with his siblings, and maybe Dude. Not once he had felt that protected outside of his little family. That thought scared him too, because... if he felt that way towards the Crowned Prince of Auradon... how was he supposed to betray him at his coronation? How was he supposed to steal Fairy Godmother's wand? It didn't help that a lot of the Auradonians where actually making an effort to talk to him, being nice. For the first time, even if he still felt unsure of how to play at this new terrain, Carlos felt like he was starting to belong somewhere that wasn't the Rotten Four's lair back in the Isle.

The next couple of hours were uneventful, sans the obvious awkwardness of the conversation held between Ben, Ben's parents - the royal family, he remembered himself - and himself. That was, until he heard a terrified scream.

He was next to Mal not even five seconds later - four seconds and a half too slow, but it would have to do - putting her behind him so she wouldn't be directly inside that woman's camp of visual anymore. Mal tried to protest at first, but Carlos didn't budge. Mal, Evie and Jay had protected him all his life. It was time he started to repay the favor.

"What's going on here?" he asked, trying to stay calmed as the woman looked at Mal with sheer terror which, ok, maybe Mal didn't look the most approachable, but wasn't Auradon supposed to be the land of the nice people?

"What is this _witch_ doing here?!"

" _Witch_?" Carlos whispered in confusion. What which? There were no longer witches in Auradon, the only remarkable one was Ursula, who was well locked inside the Isle. Then, the lady was probably using the word in a figurative way, which actually did make more sense.

"Queen Leah! Don't worry! Maleficent is still on the Isle. This is her daughter, Mal." hurriedly said Ben as he came closer, a charming smile in place as ever. Even then, Carlos could see the tension in his shoulders. "Don't you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?"

"A chance of _what_ , Ben? Destroy us?" Mal looked about to cry, and no, he was not taking it. But Ben's hand stopped him. "Come on, you remember, don't you? The poisoned apples, and the spells?" she turned to look back to Mal. "The spells. My daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother's curse. Her first words, her first steps, I missed it all! You mustn't trust her."

"I'm so sorr..." and Chad had to intervene and make everything worse. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Go away! Stay away from her!."

"Chad don't do this." the blond prince stopped at Jay's words, but only for a second.

"You were all raised by your parents. What do you want us to believe they taught you, huh? Kindness? Fair play? Nuh-huh, I don't think so." and then he surprisingly turned to Carlos. "You stole a girl's boyfriend." which, ok, fair. But there was no reason to be so mean about it.

"Hey, watch it." warned him Ben, but the stupid prince was on fire by now.

"You are only great at things because you use that spell book of yours." he spitted at Mal, who looked genuinely hurt by his words. Then Chad turned towards Jay, and for a moment it seemed like he would stop, like he would apologise and everything would be over. But that was only for a moment. "You enjoy hurting people." and if Carlos was mad for what he had said to Mal, Jay's expression only made him want to pull up a few tricks he was fond of using back in the Isle, some of which involved breaking a few of Chad's bones.

Finally, the stupid blond prince turned towards Evie, and Carlos prepared for the worst. Because that was his sister he was about to trash-talk, the only one in their little group that always wanted to be good.

But Chad didn't care about that when he opened his mouth again.

"And you, are no more than a gold digger and a cheater."

"You take that back this instant or I _swear_ I'll..." Evie put a hand on Carlos' shoulder, and smiled a bit before taking out her mirror.

"Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who's the biggest jerk in the land?" and then Evie showed the image to Chad, showing him his reflection. Very fitting, in Carlos' opinion.

Everything went downhill from there. Chad smacked Evie - he fucking dared to _smack_ her - and then Ben and other two Tourney players had to restrain both Carlos and Jay from killing that bastard of a prince. Then Evie used the sleep potion and soon the four of them were gone. None of them listened when Ben called after them. Carlos didn't look back when he heard his name.

All in all, what any VK would expect for a Family Day.

* * *

Just a few hours later, Family Day already over, the four villain kids sat on one of the many lunch tables placed in the gardens, eating their not-Family-Day-lunch in silence. Mal and Evie looked... well, all things considered, they didn't look that bad. It was Jay Carlos was worried about. Obviously what Chad had said had took a toll on him. He had no idea how his own expression was, but he hoped not too pouty.

"Hey guys! How is everyone." none of them answered to Ben, thought Carlos felt tempted to. Fortunately, the Crowned Prince didn't take it to heart. "Yeah?" then he moved until he was behind Carlos, placing his hands on his shoulders on what Carlos guessed was a reassuring gesture. "Hey, listen, forget about it. Alright? Because it was nothing, let it go. Tomorrow after the coronation I promise everything will be alright." he said, smiling reassuringly as he squeezed Carlos' shoulders gently. "I have to go." Ben whispered in his ear, and then he stayed silent for a moment before talking to his friends. "I'll see you guys later." and then he walked away. Something painful twisted in Carlos' stomach. He pushed it down.

' _Yeah, everything will be alright Ben... at least you'll stop being in love with me..._ ' the thought made him nauseous.

Then Doug tried to talk to Evie. Key word: _tried_. The douchebag - a.k.a. Chad Charming - kept interfering, and in the end he leaved too. Carlos tried not to be too mad at him for it. He knew how pressure could get the best of people, he had seen it quite a lot. But that Evie had felt the need to apologise? That Carlos wasn't about to condone.

And then the last straw dropped. Jane, the squeaky little mouse Jane, the shy and sweet daughter of the Fairy Godmother, swung by their table. And she didn't come alone. No, she came with her arm hooked with Audrey's.

"How long does he thinks that's gonna last? Carlos' just the bad boy infatuation." declared Audrey as they passed, like it wasn't meant for Carlos to hear. Yeah, sure.

' _I mean, they're kinda right. Ben's with me only because of the love spell. But they don't know that, so it was obviously to hurt my feelings._ '

"Yeah. I mean, he's never gonna make a villain, a Queen." said Jane, looking at the four of them with expectant malevolence. Then, the both of them started laughing as they leaved.

Mal breathed in... and then she drew out her spell book.

"No, Mal, it's ok..." his words were unheard by the half fairy, because soon enough, Mal was using a spell.

"Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair." and then a scream. Jane's hair was back to normal. Mal stood up, looking numb... and menacing. "There's a lot more from where that came from."

"Excuse me. Who do you think you are?" Audrey looked genuinely insulted, and Carlos wanted to laugh because, seriously? They had been the ones that provoked them.

"Just a reminder, Mal did Jane's hair in the first place. In fact, she did most of yours. So I wouldn't go around saying those kinds of things if you fear to retaliation." Carlos couldn't help but to show his teeth to them all. He was angry, and without powers nor recurring to violence, besides from his sneaky remarks that was the only thing he could do.

The others looked afraid, but Audrey just raised an eyebrow. Well, that changed when Mal actually started looking for spells she could use. They all ran away, screaming like the prissy princesses they were. Pathetic.

"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." Mal grinned in a feral way, one that they hadn't seen since they leaved the Isle. The familiar gesture came to Carlos like a breath of fresh air.

"Yeah. Let's grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand." said Carlos, mimicking Mal's expression. They wanted villains? Well, they would sure get them some.

' _Because we're rotten... to the core._ '

* * *

Carlos was fidgeting with his jacket, trying not to look at the small box he had on his lap. He was currently sitting in a beautiful carriage next to Ben. The carriage was bringing them to the church where Ben's coronation would be held.

The boy in question was looking at him, and then he held Carlos' hand.

"Don't be nervous. All you have to do is sit there and look beautiful. No problem there." and if Carlos blushed, well only the two of them would know.

But if he had to say himself, Carlos would say that, if not beautiful, he at least looked handsome. He was wearing an outfit Evie had helped him make, so it was bound to be perfect. The pants were plain black, as were his shoes - reinforced with steel, but Ben didn't need to know - and his shirt was white. He wore a dark red formal jacket, and his unruly curls were untangled and straightened by Mal's magic. As they said, simplicity was sometimes the best way to go.

"Thank you."

"Carlos, would you wear my ring?"

"Umh... not now. I think it would probably just fall right off of me." Ben smiled and let out a little laugh, nodding in understanding. "I have something for you." and he offered the box to him.

"For me?" Ben asked as he took the box.

"Yeah. It's for later. You know, when you need strength. Some carbs to keep up your energy." Carlos rehearsed fake smile slipped on perfectly, and he hoped the soon-to-be King wouldn't notice the tension on his shoulders.

"Always thankful... but I can't wait." and before Carlos could do anything, Ben shoved half of the pastry inside his mouth. "Hum... this are really good." ' _yeah? I'm glad_ ' thought the sarcastic part of himself. The rest of him was positively panicking.

"Uh, do you...?" Carlos didn't know what do say. Now their plans were ruined for sure. What was he going to say to the others when Ben kicked them out of Auradon?

"Carlos?"

"Do you feel ok?" finally the white haired boy blurted out. There was a knot formed on his throat, and he had difficulties to breathe.

"You bet!" to be fair, the boy did look indeed, great, but Carlos wasn't talking about physical statements.

"Would you say that you're... that you still have strong feelings for me?" Carlos wanted to slap himself for his words. ' _Great job, de Vil, really spectacular_ '.

"I'm not sure, I mean, let's give the anti-love potion a few minutes to take effect." said Ben, offering him one of his nice, charming smiles.

"Yeah, you're right..." and then it clicked. "What?!" and he had the nerve to fucking _laugh_. "Wait, you knew?"

"That you spelled me?" he waited a moment and then... "Yeah. Yeah, I knew."

"I-I can explain myself..."

"No, look, it's fine. I mean, you had a crush on me, and I was going out with Audrey, and you didn't trust it could happen on its own because I _was_ going out with a girl, am I right?" ' _nope. You are really mistaken, Ben_ '. But Carlos wasn't about to waste the way out the prince had given him.

"Yes! You're so right... but how long have you known?" if Mal's spell was faulty, they needed to know.

(And if that was an excuse to know for how long Ben had faked it all, that would only be known by Carlos and his wet pillow).

"Since our first date." of for fucks sake. "Mal's spell, and I'm assuming it was with Mal's help that you did the love spell, washed away with the Enchanted Lake." what? There was an Enchanted Lake that washed away spells? Why weren't they aware of its existence?

"So what, you've just been... faking it since then?"

Instead of answering, Ben slipped his ring - his _family_ ring - into Carlos' finger. Oh god, did that mean what Carlos thought it meant?

"I haven't been faking anything." and Carlos' heart stopped. It stopped and it didn't start beating again until Ben shacked him out of it with an affectionate squeeze of his hand.

Carlos then smiled... only to have to maintain the fake one that slipped on his face when he remembered why he was with him in the first place. He had a job to do. He had to make his mother proud.

Even if it meant to break his and Ben's heart.

(Because if he didn't compelled and Mother got a hold of him, he was as good as dead).

When it was their turn to get off the carriage, Ben helped him out, and then they faced the stairs. Ben's parents - the Queen and the King, he remembered himself - were waiting for them. He bowed in front of Queen Belle first, receiving a small smile in return. She didn't look particularly mad at him - thank gods - and that was enough for Carlos. He then turned to greet the King, and found him already near enough.

"About the other day, I just..." the King didn't let him finish.

"I told Ben this wasn't going to be easy." he flashed his son a look, but Ben didn't look frightened by it.

(Was it wrong that he thought it was normal for kids to fear their parents?).

"You also taught me that a King has to believe in himself, even when it isn't easy." he pointedly said, and it only missed the raised eyebrow to finish the gesture.

"I did?" Belle smacked her husband, and Carlos carefully hided the laugh that wanted to come out with a well practiced cough. "How wise of me."

"Ben, we are very proud of you." said the Queen as she held her son's hands. "You keep listening to your heart." she smiled, and a part of Carlos felt jealous. Because her mother never smiled, at least not to him. And when she did, it was probably in one of her phases, so it wasn't better.

After some more words of encouragement, the Queen and the King leaved, probably to take their places at the ceremony, and soon Carlos was alone with Ben - and the other hundreds of people outside the church and the cameras taking photos, but who was counting anyway - . Ben sent him another of his oddly reassuring smiled and briefly held his hand, before letting go.

"Wish me luck." and before Carlos could say anything, he was being dragged - taken, because in Auradon people weren't _dragged_ anywhere - away to his place at the ceremony.

' _Good luck Ben. You'll need it if everything goes as planned._ '

Soon, Carlos was in his seat, and he immediately directed his gaze to where his friends where. And sure, there he found Evie, Jay and Mal. They had left Dude in the boy's room, because Carlos didn't want him to be trapped in the crossfire that was sure to happen, and if his mother even saw a glimpse of him... well, lets just say that Carlos was going to make sure to hide Dude as well as he could.

The next time he saw Ben the coronation had started, and the boy in question was walking towards the platform where the King and the Queen, Fairy Godmother, and the wand - because that was a really important thing - were waiting for him. Carlos smiled and bowed when Ben passed by his side, while internally he clang to himself. He didn't want to do this... but he had to. And he would do it.

And then everything went to hell when Jane grabbed the wand.

"If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself." and ok, that was the worst reason Carlos had even heard for wanting that wand. Even stealing them for evil purposes was better, he swore. But he didn't have time to dwell on that. He had to do something before Jane ended up hurting someone.

Carlos wasn't a magic user, so of course the wand couldn't have any effect if he was holding it. And so, when he finally took the wand away from Jane - who was still, unfortunately for her, without that make over she wanted - it stopped sparkling and glowing. It seemed that not having any magical powers had its advantages. Sort of.

In the corner of his eye, Carlos noticed his friends running towards the stairs, obviously planning on going down with him now that their plan as ruined by Jane.

The white haired boy held the wand away from him, pointing towards the ceiling. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what to do. He knew what he should do, he knew what he had to do, but what did he want to do?

' _It doesn't matter what you want. It never did._ '

"Carlos, give me the wand." at Ben's voice, Carlos instinctively pointed the wand towards him. He was acting on survival instincts alone now, and they told him that he couldn't turn in the wand. Not if he wanted to live.

"Stand back." Carlos felt his friends, his siblings running towards him.

"It's ok." Ben tried to calm him down, but Carlos couldn't focus on anything else other than _that they needed to get away with the wand, they needed to escape before they locked them inside a closet too, they needed to get away, get away, get away, get away.._.

"Ben, I said stand the fuck back." his voice trembled as he said it, and in the distant background he heard someone - Audrey? - saying something. He didn't hear what, he just pointed the wand towards her instead.

"Let's go!" Mal's familiar voice brought him back to his senses a little bit, but not completely.

"Revenge time." Jay's growl only fed the feeling inside him.

"Do you really want to do this?"

"We don't have a choice, Ben! Unlike yours, our parents...!"

"Your parents made their choice. Now it's time you make yours."

"You don't get it, do you? It's not about choices, Ben, it never was. It's about what they'll do to us if we fail. It's about what they'll do even if we succeed. I told you once I was afraid of my mom. Can you think of a reason why?" Carlos was at the verge of tears by the time he was done, the wand shaking violently because of his own hand's instability. "I want to be good, Ben. But blood runs deep. And fear runs deeper."

"But you are good!" and it was then that Carlos realised Ben had tears in his eyes too. It only made him feel worse.

"How do you know that!" how could he possibly know without knowing of all his demons, of all his faults. How could he be so sure when Carlos himself wasn't?!

"Because I'm listening to my heart." insisted the new King - because he had just been crowned, after all - .

"I want to listen to my heart too. But you need to _promise_ me..." again, Carlos' voice trembled, but he didn't care. Not anymore.

"She won't hurt you." because, Ben had to remind himself, he was talking to a fourteen year old. Mature as he was, Carlos was still a kid in the bottom, one who needed that kind of reassurance because he had never had it before.

"And the others?" Carlos wouldn't do anything until he was sure none of them was getting hurt either. They came first, and would always come first.

"You're all safe here, Carlos. I promise." finally, the white haired boy let himself breath out, tension leaving his shoulders. If Ben promised... then he had nothing to worry about.

"Then I choose good. Because we're not our parents." he said, turning towards his siblings. "I mean, stealing doesn't make you happy, Jay. Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy."

"Yeah!" someone - most likely a member of the Tourney team - yelled, and Jay smiled slightly.

"Mal, you don't enjoy planning to take over the world. You like art classes, and going to school. I noticed." Mal smiled, lowering her gaze. "And Evie. You don't have to play dumb to get a guy, because you're incredibly talented and smart! I mean, who else could have helped me with this suit?" they both laughed, and Carlos even cried a bit. "And I enjoy playing with Dude, who would have thought. It makes me happy. And being with Ben makes me happy, because he's one of the bests things that has ever happened to me." he turned around, only to find Ben already looking at him with that stupidly cute puppy dog face he always made.

He turned once more, because there was something else he needed to say.

"Us being friends makes me happy. Not the gang activity, but my siblings, the ones that have always been with me. You make me the happiest in the world, because I know you have my back, and that you'll always be there." he cried again, and actually had to stop for a moment to reign himself once more. "I choose good, guys. What about you?" he raised his fist, waiting for them to do it too. The first one was Jay.

"I choose good." he said, bumping his fist with Carlos'

"I choose good too." next was Evie, and finally:

"Stop making me cry, 'Los, I'm supposed to be the tough one here." joked Mal, and the four laughed. "I choose good."

And for a moment, everything was a beautiful, calm light. For a moment, an ephemeral moment, Carlos believed everything would be alright, because Ben had promised. For a moment, he let himself dream, he let himself hope of a future where he would thrive and be safe.

But it lasted, as everything good in Carlos' life, only a moment.

Then Maleficent burst through, a green, thick smoke swirling around the pillars in a way only magic could make possible. Magic that most certainly didn't belong to the Fairy Godmother.

As everyone ran to the walls, looking for some kind of protection, Carlos' stomach dropped. Of course, of course that the moment he had let himself believe, life had to turn around and tell him no.

"I'm back!" and _god dammit_ , Carlos wished it wasn't true. He wished, he wished, he wished. It was the only thing he could do now.

"Go away, Mother." Mal said like she was done - that she was - and Maleficent laughed. It sent shivers down Carlos' spine, and for a second, he almost thought he was back in the Isle.

"She's so funny. Your very funny. Here." she then turned to face Carlos. "Wand me. Chop, chop." and for a second, Carlos didn't know what to do. Should he give her the wand? Should he?

' _Do as she says. You know how you mother would feel if you didn't. And you also know what she would do if you didn't._ ' and Carlos was oh, so tented to do it, because fear isn't something no one can get rid of with just one conversation, and Carlos is very much acquaintance with fear. It was as easy as handling the wand to Maleficent, just stretching his hand a little bit and she would be able to reach it. ' _Maybe if I do it then she'll forgive Ben._ ' and he knew it probably wasn't true, and that it was only hope. But hope was something he wasn't acquaintanced with, so it made him doubt.

"No!" Ben shouted, and it broke whatever kind of trance he was in, so Carlos threw the wand back to the Fairy Godmother, who caught it with ease.

" _Bibidi, babidi_...!" but the dark fairy didn't let her finish.

" _Bu_!" and with her scepter, she froze everyone else.

"Kidding." she laughed again. "Sorry." and then she walked towards the Fairy Godmother, and she took the wand. "Now, where should we begin? Oh, I know! How about we get rid of this?" and pointing the wand towards Carlos, he felt the ring Ben had given him just an hour ago slipping out of his finger. Landing in the base of the wand. "Perfect fit!" Carlos looked at his now bare hand with horror.

Mal put a hand on his shoulder. If someone knew how devastating Maleficent's acts could be, it was her.

"Falling in love if weak." and when she touched Ben Carlos wanted to shout ' _Do not touch him!_ '. But he didn't. "And ridiculous. It's not what you want, kid."

"You don't know what he wants. You don't know what any of us want. Mom, have you ever asked about how I feel when you do stuff like this? I'm not you! And Carlos isn't like Cruella!" and Carlos' eyes watered when he heard that. He had always known he wasn't his mother. He wasn't as respected on the Isle, he wasn't as insane, he wasn't as cruel. Those were the things people thought when they saw him, wondering how had he ended up in the most powerful gang. But until that moment, it had never been said to him like it was a good thing.

"Oh, obviously. We all have years of being evil under our belt, you're just getting started. But you'll get there." Maleficent waved off her daughter's protests, admiring her sceptre and the wand as Mal refused.

"No, I will not! And I really wished that you had never gotten there yourself." she breathed in. "Love is not weak, nor it is ridiculous. I've never seen Carlos happier than when he's with Ben, it's amazing!" the white haired boy blushed at the comment. Had he really looked happier? How? He only felt miserable when he was with him, because it had been all fake, the results of a love spell.

Except it hadn't. He was happier with Ben. And the King did love him. ' _What a shame that he'll be killed by our parents anyway._ ' thought the cynical part of him.

"I know one thing young lady: it doesn't matter if your subordinates have someone, you have no place for love in you life!"

And then, something incredible happened. Mal, _somehow_ , managed to get the wand back.

"I-it worked!"

"I hardly think so. Ok, this is tedious, very immature. Give me the wand, give me the wand!"

"Hold on, Mal." ' _Don't give it to her!_ ' "Remember what we said? That good was better than evil?" with his eyes Carlos pleaded that she believed him.

"Oh, ple—ease, you're killing me!" she mocked him, and Dude came up to defend him, jumping in on Maleficent - and wow, Carlos was _proud_. He wouldn't have done that, Maleficent was a huge no-no - .

Then Jay bravely - stupidly - tried to take the sceptre from Maleficent. It didn't work.

"Enough!" for a moment, and remembering all of their Isle lessons - because you can take the kid from the Isle, but you can't take the Isle from the kid - the four of them froze. "You all will regret this!" and then she turned into a dragon.

Maleficent turned into a fucking dragon. They were going to die. ' _And I didn't get to say goodbye to Ben._ ' at least, Carlos thought bitterly, his mother hadn't got a hold of him.

"Come on, Jay, _run_!" Carlos shrieked, because his best friend was about to get burned to death, oh gods, it was bad. And then Evie used her mirror and Carlos could breathe again, because they were all alive. But then Mal stood in front of them, and Carlos considered stopping her. But he couldn't. That was her fight. All they could do was stay by her side and try to help her.

"This is between you and me, Mother." Carlos placed his hand on her shoulder, silently telling her that they got her. "The strength of evil is good as none, when stand before four hearts as one!" and for the first time, Mal won against her mother. The four of them watched in awe as Maleficent turned into a tiny, harmless version of the dragon she was merely seconds ago.

Just as Maleficent stopped being a threat, Fairy Godmother woke up, free of the dark fairy's spell because of her own magical core. The four of them ran to meet the tiny Maleficent because, well, it was a _tiny Maleficent_.

"What just happened?"

"I have _no_ idea."

"Did you do it?"

"I don't know!"

"No, no, no, no. Your mother did." Fairy Godmother rushed to greet them besides the tiny dragon. "She shrank to the size of the love in her heart. That's why she's so itty bitty." oh well, then, that did explain a lot, Carlos thought to himself. Honestly, he was surprised she still existed at all.

"She'll be like that forever?" asked Mal worried, because even when Maleficent's love for her was as tiny as her - quite literally - . Mal's love for her mother was immense.

"Well, forever is a long time. You learned to love, and so can she." Mal smiled, as did the other three VKs.

"I think this belongs to you." Mal gave the Fairy Godmother her wand back. Now that they didn't have to worry about the magical stick, everything felt lighter, and giving back the item in question was relieving.

"And I believe this belongs to you, Carlos." she offered him the Royal family's ring, the ring Ben had given him before the ceremony and that whole mess started. "You all have earned an A in Goodness class. _Bibidi, babidi, bu_!" and just like that, everyone started moving again.

"RA—AWR!" Carlos had to stop Ben from going ballistic on a non-existential threat.

"Hey! Ben, don't worry! We had all this wrapped up here." the newly crowned King stared at him for a moment before grabbing him and twirling him around. " _Eeek_!"

"Next time I rescue you, ok?"

"Let's just hope there's not a next one, huh?" and in a spur of braveness, Carlos tiptoed to hug his boyfriend - because they were real boyfriends now, weren't they? - . In his peripheral vision, he saw Chad and Jay talking. Good.

And right then, hugging his boyfriend, he found out that life was good.

* * *

Two days after the party, Carlos and Ben were in the latter's room. Being the prince - no, _King_ \- he had a room at Auradon Prep as any other student, but the castle, his home, was just five minutes away, so he mostly slept there.

They were just sitting on Ben's huge and very comfortable bed - and no, Carlos was _not_ thinking of anything dirty - , talking about themselves. Now that their parents' threat wasn't hanging up his head, Carlos could finally talk to Ben, tell him things.

"... and there was this time when I had to meet the guys for a raid because we were low on food, but I was locked inside Mother's dressing room because it was past curfew, and she had relocated the bear traps so I wouldn't know where they were, so it was rea—aly hard to get out, and..." Carlos then notices the horrifies face of his boyfriend. "Ben? What's wrong?"

"Dressing room? _Bear traps_?" the white haired boy tensed, because he had forgotten that, in Auradon, people didn't do that with their kids. That was something only villains - only Cruella - did.

"I... yes. Before coming here, I slept in Mother's dressing room alongside her furrs. And to keep me off them, because the gods forbid I could get my hands in one of those, she put bear traps. It was hard to dodge them at first, but then it became easy to find them without setting them off, so... yeah, it wasn't so bad." but Carlos was lying. He still remembered when the traps caught one of his hands, or his legs. He still remembered how he had to wash the bleeding wounds with dirty sea water - how much it had stung, how lucky he had been they never got infected - and he still remembered how he had to steal a needle and some thread to sew his own flesh. He had been five when it first happened, and he still had the ugly scars of when he didn't know what he was doing.

"Carlos... what else did Cruella do?" Ben's tone was cautious, like he was nearing a scared animal. Carlos didn't notice it, more focused on the question than the reason of it.

"W-what?"

"I mean... this isn't the first time you've talked about you mother. I know something happened. And you keep saying this like this, like they didn't matter, when they _do_ , and... I just wanna know if there's anything I can do."

"You've done more than enough already, Ben. I mean, you got us out. You forgave us when we tried to steal the wand for _our parents_. What else could I possibly want you to do?"

"It's not about wanting, but about what you _need_ , Carlos. I... I need to know this if I want to help you. And I do." and Ben looked so desperate, like he needed Carlos to _understand_. He wasn't sure he did, because why would he care that much - but then again, Auradon citizens were weird and caring like that - ? Either way, Carlos decided to humor him. It wasn't like it was a secret in the Isle, more like unofficial information. People talked about it in hushed tones, wondering about what exactly went down in Hell Hall. They had all seen Carlos in a dumpster at least once. So telling his boyfriend shouldn't be that different, right?

He could do this.

"Um, well... you know my mom's clinically ill, right? She's uh, mentally unstable. _Really_ mentally unstable. And when they signed her off the mental facility she was in to send her to the Isle, her meds also stopped coming. And she got worse." Carlos was looking to his fidgeting hands, not daring to look anywhere else. He didn't want to see Ben's face. "My dad, he always tried to make her treat me better. But one time he started arguing with her while she was on one of her phases, and... well, she killed him. But I know my cousin Diego, he's still in the Isle. The thing is, my father's death really shook her off... more than she already because she knows it was her who did it. My mom's nuts, let's face it. That's why she's near the top of the worsts villains in the Isle. She has this two subordinates, Jasper and Horace. They always tried to make my life difficult, and they did everything Mother asked them to do. So I often found myself hiding inside dumpsters to lose them. I did all the cleaning and maintenance of Hell Hall—that's the name of my house, by the way, and she made me take care of her furs too. A-and she also has this mood swings when she was having a bad day—and yeah, she was going through a really bad one when she killed my dad, though she always had a bit of a bad day, really. The thing is, she mostly paid it with me, because... well, I was there." Carlos hadn't stopped talking, the words just kept coming out of his mouth in an endless verbiage. Ben hadn't stopped him either, just listening silently. But then, when the real reason why he was so afraid of his mother neared, he just couldn't say it.

"Carlos? What did she do?" Ben's soft voice made him look up, finding those gentle brown eyes looking at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world.

"I... she... she would confuse me. Mistake me for something else. Sometimes she would see me as a Dalmatian, probably because I'm as monochromatic as one could be, and I had to get out of the house until she was back to being herself, because she always got that urge to make new coats. But she once mistook me... she thought I was Anita. Anita Rogers? The one who owns all the Dalmatians my mother wants? She went completely bunkers and... and she made this." and slowly, almost painfully so, Carlos rolled up his shirt. As most of his body, his back and chest were covered in small white scars, with the more than occasional bigger one from the poorly sewed stitches. But there was a specific one, between his shoulder blades. "I was giving her my back, because she looked fine and just wanted me to clean the kitchen. But then... she started muttering things about Anita and she picked up one of the knives. I-I have fast reflexes, so I sensed her before she could hit me too hard. It still got to me though, but not deep enough to kill me on the spot. I heal quickly, and I had Mal, Evie and Jay to help me, but I still wonder how I can still move. She thought I was dead because there was too much blood, so she left me there and then Jay found me because I hadn't shown up and they got worried." he tried to play it off, to act as he didn't care. But he did care, and it showed. He was trembling violently, and he couldn't get his hands to stop shaking.

"Carlos, look at me. Come on, doll, _look at me_." but Carlos couldn't look up, he _couldn't_. So Ben has to grab his chin and gently lift it up so they would be eye to eye. "You need to calm down, sweetheart, you're shaking too much. Come on, deep breaths." but Carlos couldn't breath. He couldn't breath, couldn't breath, couldn't breath, some help him _please_...! His vision started going black, and he could barely hear Ben screaming his name.

And then it stopped.

He felt something pressed against his lips. Ben? He was kissing him.

Slowly, his vision returned, and while his heart still beat faster than what was probably safe, he didn't feel his chest as painfully tight as before. He could probably breath now, if it weren't for Ben's mouth smashed against his, of course.

When the two parted, all Carlos could do was look at Ben dumbfounded. It made the young King smile, because Carlos was just adorable.

"Feeling better?" he asked the white haired boy, tracing gentle circles on his back with his hand.

"Yeah. Thanks Ben. That was the quickest I've ever been able to stop my panic attack." Carlos' expression softened. "You ground me, Ben. And honestly, sometimes that scares me because I know that once you grow tired of me, I'll be alone again." a sad smile appeared on his lips, trying hard to keep the tears inside his water ducts.

"I'll never leave you, love. I promise you don't have nothing to fear." Ben's whisper was one full of love, of adoration and care. It sent shivers down Carlos' spine, because he felt it was true.

"When we were at the Enchanted Lake, you asked me if I loved you back. I think I know the question now." the white haired boy looked down for a second, trying to find the words. "Maybe I'm still not sure of what love is, because the Isle never welcomed love. But if I had to guess, I would say that what I feel for you is even bigger than that." he said lowly before closing the space between them in a magical kiss.

' _I guess what Ben said about the rock was true. It did grant me my wish_.' because right there, being next to Ben, knowing their relationship was real? That was the happiest Carlos had ever been.


End file.
